Tampa Bay get to 70 before anyone else
Seventy wins. No American League team had reached that mark this season until Saturday night in Seattle. The Tampa Bay Rays got there first, holding off the Mariners 3-2 at T-Mobile Park to move to 70-46 and tighten their grip on the AL East.
It was not comfortable. Seattle pushed until the final out, but the Rays’ bullpen refused to break. Tampa Bay has now won six of its last seven, a stretch that has turned a strong season into a serious one.
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A bullpen night that should not have worked
The plan fell apart hours before first pitch. Scheduled starter Griffin Jax was scratched with discomfort in his right elbow, forcing Tampa Bay into a full bullpen game. Casey Legumina opened, and six more arms followed. Seven pitchers, one run surrendered where it counted.
Richie Palacios provided the decisive swing, a two-run single in the sixth that flipped the lead. Victor Mesa Jr. had already gone deep to keep the Rays in front early. Everything after that became an exercise in survival, and the relievers passed it.
Naylor’s two homers go to waste
Josh Naylor did his part for Seattle and still finished on the losing side. The first baseman launched two solo home runs, his first long balls since June 12, connecting off Cam Booser in the second and Garrett Cleavinger in the seventh. Two swings, two runs, no reward.
The Mariners walked off their own field frustrated. They out-homered Tampa Bay and lost anyway, undone by a single big inning and a bullpen that kept finding outs. For the Rays, the night carried weight beyond the standings. Reaching 70 first is the kind of marker a contender leans on come October.
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